1. Traditional cardiovascular risk factors can cause cardiac disease in patients with IIM. Systemic and local inflammation may either have a direct effect on the myocardium or make the heart more susceptible to traditional risk factors.
Traditional cardiovascular risk factors can cause cardiac disease in patients with IIM. Systemic and local inflammation may either have a direct effect on the myocardium or make the heart more susceptible to traditional risk factors. In the heart, disease can occur in the pericardium, coronary arteries or the myocardium, and arrhythmias can appear. Myocardial disease can result in diastolic or systolic dysfunction, and when clinical symptoms arise, the patient has developed heart failure. Myocardial disease may result in arrhythmias, or they can occur as a result of inflammation directly influencing cardiomyocyte function. Both arrhythmias and coronary artery disease, such as myocardial infarction, can directly result in heart failure.
Thomas Schwartz et al. RMD Open 2016;2:e000291
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